


A Field Guide to Dragons of the Circumpolar Arctic (excerpts)

by Sholio



Category: Original Work
Genre: Documentation, Dragons, Fake Science, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 01:36:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20986652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sholio/pseuds/Sholio
Summary: As compiled from the research of Janet Fletcher, PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Alaska, later department head of the University of Alberta's Draconology Department, the first of its kind.





	A Field Guide to Dragons of the Circumpolar Arctic (excerpts)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scribblemyname](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribblemyname/gifts).

**Introduction**  
The field guide that follows is compiled largely from 50 years of field notes made by Dr. Fletcher and her students. Prior to Dr. Fletcher's initial research in Alaska in the 1960s, Arctic dragons were almost completely unstudied, and were in fact believed by most of the scientific community not to exist; it was thought that dragons were unable to survive outside the tropics. They were, of course, known to the local indigenous population, and are attested in anthropological accounts going back over a hundred years, but were believed to be mythological. The well-known tendency of dragons to disintegrate upon death contributed to this, as they must be observed alive in order to be studied.

As of this time, 22 Arctic species have been described, often in fragmentary observations that make it difficult to determine whether, for example, a so-called new species is in fact a color morph of another, known species. New information is always welcome, particularly when accompanied by photographs or video or audio recordings; please contact the biology department at your local university. The following species are well known enough to be included in this guide. See a list of suspected subspecies or possible new species in the appendix.

* * *

**Prism dragon**   
_(D. prisma)_

**Identification:** Among the rarest but perhaps most spectacular of the Arctic dragons. Unique properties of its scales, combined with its frills and spines, reflect and refract light in a way that makes it appear slightly translucent and rainbow-colored. The evolutionary purpose of these refractions is thought to be related to blinding and confusing its prey.

**Range:** Occurs primarily in northern Siberia; occasionally observed in Greenland and the far north of Alaska.

**Notes:** Little is known of its habits, as it is even less inclined to risk human contact than most dragons, and does not habituate to humans even through regular observation. These dragons will mainly be seen as a rainbow glinting on the horizon, and are easily mistaken for sundogs, mirages, and other Arctic atmospheric phenomena.

* * *

**Lesser feathered Arctic dragon**   
_(D. lagopus)_

**Identification:** Length 16-30 inches (40-76 cm); vestigial wings (cannot fly). Feathered feet allow it to walk on top of the snow; it may also burrow under, both for warmth and in search of the small mammals that are its preferred prey. Like some other Arctic animals including the snowshoe hare and Arctic fox, changes color depending on the season, with a mottled brown summer phase and a winter white phase. It is covered in what appears to be fur but is actually hairlike feathers. Shedding these produces the color changes, unlike the chameleon dragon _(D. chamaeleon)_ and Canadian dragon _(D. canadensis)_ in which the color changes occur in the scales. (_D. chamaeleon_ is not found this far north; _D. canadensis_ is described elsewhere in this guide.)

**Range:** Found throughout the circumpolar north. Often competes with mustelids (e.g. weasels, mink) where their ranges intersect.

**Notes:** Due to its small size and general similarity to equivalent-sized mustelids, it is often mistaken for one, particularly in its white phase, which from a distance is difficult to distinguish from the ermine. It is the only known land-dwelling dragon that bears live young as the water dragons do; it is also one of the dragon species that has been observed to exhibit sex-changing behavior. Members of the scurry (the collective for a group of small dragons) are predominantly male, but generally 2-4 members of the scurry will be female at any given time, typically with one or two giving birth each year. Young are born in early spring in an underground nest, and the scurry will cooperatively hunt to feed them. Pair-bonding behavior is not documented; these dragons couple without seeming to have a preferred partner.

* * *

**Greater feathered Arctic dragon**   
_(D. arcticus)_

**Identification:** Length 8-12 ft (2.4-3.6m); extremely small vestigial wings. There is debate whether this is truly a separate species from _D. lagopus_, which it otherwise resembles physically except for the size, but extremely different behavior suggests either convergent evolution of two unrelated species, or a long-ago point of divergence. 

**Range:** Extremely rare; known only in scattered populations from the high Arctic and other, isolated locations worldwide, including the Himalayas (Nepal region). It is thought that its range was considerably wider during the last glacial period, shrinking in the modern era with the loss of the megafauna on which it would have once preyed until it remains only in small and dwindling remnant populations. Considered threatened.

**Notes:** Unlike the unusual social behavior of the communally dwelling _D. lagopus_, this species exhibits more classic dragon traits including temporary pair-bonding for purposes of courtship and laying eggs. This clutch may be reared by either the male or female, but usually not both; these dragons are primarily solitary. When forced into overlapping territories by habitat reduction or human encroachment, lethal fights may occur.

* * *

**Northern water dragon**   
_(D. maritimus)_

**Identification:** A medium-sized marine dragon, the only known species of water dragon north of the temperate zone. Dark above, pale below, very difficult to distinguish visually from other marine dragons aside from its range. Wingless, it is an agile swimmer that still retains the ability to move about on land, if not as gracefully.

**Range:** Found throughout Arctic waters, particularly along coastlines and icepacks, where it finds the seals and walruses that are its preferred prey. It is one of the only known predators of polar bears. It also feeds on fish and marine mammals such as dolphins and orcas. Occasional sightings of pods of _D. maritimus_ cooperatively hunting whales have been observed, but this is thought to be primarily for sport, as no confirmed dragon kills of any large whale have been documented.

**Notes:** Like all known aquatic dragons except the endangered South Pacific pitaya, the Northern water dragon bears live young. Number of young is not known as nesting behavior has not been observed at the present time, but mature dragons may be seen accompanied by 1-5 juveniles of different ages. They do not form stable, hierarchical social groups as pack-dwelling mammals do (e.g. wolves, lions), but these groups of adults and young may persist into the juveniles' adulthood, and cooperative hunting has been noted, a rarity for dragons who normally hunt alone.

* * *

**Canadian dragon**   
_(D. canadensis)_

**Identification:** A stocky, heavy-bodied dragon, capable of flying, but not a good flier, and generally hunts small to medium-sized prey on the ground; they may also take down large prey such as moose in the winter. Colors are generally dark to medium brown, may also exhibit incomplete color morphing in the winter due to shedding of lighter summer scales for heavier winter scales; this produces a mottled brown and white effect, not a complete color change as in the feathered dragons.

**Range:** Most common in northern Canada, but not actually exclusive to it, this dragon is also known to occur in Greenland, the northern Scandinavian area, and parts of Alaska.

**Notes:** Habits are typical of the better-studied dragons farther south. It is solitary, pairs up to mate, and lays a small clutch of eggs usually every two or three years; male or female parents may guard the nest and rear the young, but usually not both together. Occasional sex changing is noted, but usually only where populations are small and one sex is heavily predominate. Juveniles may stay with the caretaking parent through the hatching of a new clutch, and assist with the caretaking of newly hatched offspring, but typically depart shortly after.

The Canadian dragon is the only one of the Arctic dragons with any history of economic use by humans. Like all dragons, it is useless as a source of meat or other animal products due to the disintegration of any part of the dragon's body that is separated from the whole, or the discorporation of the entire dragon upon its death. However, there are attested accounts of early Canadian settlers attempting to domesticate and ride them, and occasionally use them as draft animals. (In general size they are similar to an ox, and much burlier than most dragons, so it's not impossible, in theory.) As with moose, their temperament proved unsuitable to domestication, and no successful effort along those lines is known.

* * *

**Notes:**  
Illustrations from Dr. Fletcher's sketchbook. Other proposed species which have not been observed extensively enough for inclusion in this guide include:

\- Icicle dragon: a relative of the prism dragon, but much smaller, exhibits camouflage behavior by clinging to eaves pretending to be an icicle. The only Arctic dragon that occurs in urban areas. Whether this is actually a subspecies of the prism dragon or simply aberrant behavior on the part of a few of them is still controversial; there are also those who doubt that this behavior exists at all, as it is known only from information collected from Dr. Fletcher's informants in several Arctic communities.

\- Bison mimic: occurs only in regions that also have bison or musk ox. Another feathered dragon, quite shaggy and dark, joins herds of large shaggy creatures by pretending to be one of the group and proceeds to feed on them and leave. Completely unknown until appearing among a herd of Alberta cattle in 1978. Reports are scattered and rare enough that this may actually be a misidentification of _D. canadensis_.

\- Spruce tree mimic: not included in this guide because study is ongoing and its habits are still mostly unobserved. This dragon was unknown to science until 2002 but appears to be actually among the most common and widespread of the Arctic dragons, occurring on all continents of the circumpolar northern region; however, it spends most of its time in its dormant state, standing vertically with wings folded and spines extended, appearing to be part of a grove of spruce, pine, or fir. It hunts less frequently than other dragons, and seems to have a few active times a year when it hunts, breeds, and migrates. It is almost completely nocturnal and still has only been observed a few times in its active state. It is most often detected by noticing spruce trees that appear to move from one place to another.

\- Porpoise dragon: Probably just a smaller variant of _D. maritimus,_ or misidentification of a juvenile. Small aquatic dragons have been observed playing with dolphins, porpoises, and orcas. These are most likely _D. maritimus_ juveniles, possibly orphaned ones that have sought out maritime mammals for company, but not a separate species.

\- Orkney dragon or Scottish fighting dragon: This is a known, though rare, coastal species of the Orkney Islands and Outer Hebrides, feeding mostly on fish but also preying on cattle. Whether it should be classed among the Arctic dragons or the temperate-to-tropical dragons is controversial. It is generally classed as a European dragon, but individuals are known to stray as far as Greenland and northern Canada, and it does not appear to occur farther south.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[PODFIC] A Field Guide to Dragons of the Circumpolar Arctic (excerpts), by Sholio](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23325649) by [Thimblerig](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thimblerig/pseuds/Thimblerig)


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